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G.I. Joes better this time, still needs more punch

When I was a kid, there were several cartoons I always enjoyed watching. The Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were at the top of the list. Right behind those was G.I Joe: Real American Heroes who always kicked the tail of the evil forces of Cobra. So when they made the first live action film of my cartoon heroes, I was ecstatic and eventually a little letdown by the finished product (it could have been a lot better). Now, with the debut of the inevitable sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, let’s see if it merits a better grade than the first.

After the events of the last film, Cobra has disappeared since the imprisonment of their leader, Cobra Commander, and the G.I. Joes have been busy with other world affairs. Little do they know, Cobra is about to launch a plan for world domination. Sent on a mission by the president, the Joes are set up and attacked. With only a few survivors left, they set out to find out what Cobra is up to and stop their nefarious plan before the world suffers dearly.

“Underwhelming” would be the perfect word to describe the last film. I know the material is based off of a cartoon, but that doesn’t mean the movie has to be cartoonish. That’s what the first one felt like and it lacked a sense of realism that would have served it well. With Retaliation, that is not the case. You can tell the director took the time to highlight real styles of combat and weapons as well as blending in some of the futuristic weapons that made G.I. Joes fun in the first place. The battle vehicles that both sides use in the film they are very reminiscent of the ones used in the cartoon, which helps bring life to the animated series — a quality that was lacking in the first film.

This time, the action has been beefed up with more elaborate fighting sequences. The most impressive is a scene where everyone’s favorite silent ninja Snakeyes and new character Jynx are fighting a sleuth of Cobra’s ninjas on the side of a mountain. The atmosphere is beautiful and the choreography of the fight is top notch entertainment. At some points, the action is high octane.

What hurts the film, though, was the marketing and converting it into 3D. Originally, the release date was last June, but when Paramount learned how big the buzz was on the film, they pushed it back till now so they could convert it and make more money. Bad mistake because, as most films converted instead of filmed in 3D, it doesn’t look good. It’s not worth the extra money. Plus, because of all the marketing last year and this year, the movie becomes predictable and lands flat in areas. Overall, G. I. Joes: Retaliation is fun and a worthy sequel, but it doesn’t deliver as hard of a punch as expected.